Top-Loading Vs Front-Loading: How To Choose The Right Backpack For Light, One-Bag Travel

For several years, I traveled exclusively with a top-loading backpack — the kind thru-hikers take on the Appalachian Trail — and I carried that thing everywhere. I stuffed its 65-liter body with clothes and camping gear. I used its handy side pockets for tools and gadgets. I affixed sleeping bags and trekking poles with external rigging. I tightened the shoulder straps and clipped the hip belt around my waist, so the bundle would stick firmly to my back. At the same time, the ventilated frame helped air flow along my spine. This was the backpack that "true backpackers" ought to use, I decided, no matter what their travels entailed.

But as years went by, I noticed something: My clothes were a mess. That was fine in rustic conditions, but my trusty backpack felt out-of-place in decent-to-posh hotels. The narrow opening in the top started to feel claustrophobic; I'd reach into the darkness and root around for a favorite shirt. Grime-covered garments were increasingly hard to separate from clean ones, as they all become a tangled mass at the bottom of my bag. Trousers wrinkled, socks went missing, and only on the last day of my trip would I remember I'd brought a paperback, which was now warped and torn.

That's when I stopped being a snob and bought myself a front-loading backpack. These are usually rounder and bulkier; the larger versions look like oversized book bags, the kind that jostles behind you when you're late to class. Yet the front-loading version was much easier to pack and access; my belongings were a cinch to keep organized. So as you search for top-rated backpacks for every budget, take it from me: both types are worth considering.

Top-loading backpacks are compact and durable, making them ideal for hiking and camping. They often come with special accoutrements, like a compartment for hydration bladders, a removable rain cover, or important safety features. Top-loaders also serve well in grungy locations, where (for example) tropical heat or recurring storms make many travelers less concerned about their appearance. Lots of communities around the world are accustomed to the "backpacker look," and locals rarely raise at eyebrow at scruffy tourists. I have been this guy many times, and if you're also the kind of budget traveler who uses this genius laundry method to save money, top-loaders are definitely for you.

The older I get, though, the more I like to dress up for occasions, and front-loading backpacks help enormously. I can still travel with a single bag, which is often small enough to stuff into a jetliner's overhead compartment, but this wider vessel lends itself to packing cubes and laundry bags. I can unzip the backpack, flip it open, and review all my personal effects in a few seconds. Nicer clothes don't wrinkle as easily, and socks stay paired. This backpack behaves more like a suitcase, except I can also lift it off the ground, so I never have to worry about rolling tiny wheels over uneven pavement.

Each type of backpack can be excellent, and you may struggle to decide which is best for your journey. Just don't be like a younger me and assume that one backpack is perfect for all situations. And whatever you do, remember where you put that paperback.